In Your Eyes, I'd Like to Stay
by Atg543
Summary: It was more than just a comet because of what it brought to his life: direction, beauty, meaning. When I was with you, when you are near me, everything is so much brighter. You light up everything I do, Brooke." BRUCAS S5/6


Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill, obviously or the song "Thinking of You" by Katy Perry.

Note: This is just because I was watching the new One Tree Hill, and even though I like Julian, I don't love him. Brooke and Lucas are MEANT to be together. The end. Lucas and Peyton (or Hilarie and Chad) have ZERO chemistry. It drives me crazy. I know that Brooke and Lucas have no chance on the show now, but they will always win in my fictions! Okay. Rant over. Enjoy this little one shot. (Also you might recognize some song lyrics from Katy Perry in here because this is inspired by her song, "Thinking of You.")

Back story: Lucas and Peyton never got back together after Lindsay dumped him at the altar. However, Julian did come to town and he and Brooke began dating. You'll see how this all works out in the story. Everything else is pretty much the same.

**In Your Eyes, I'd like to Stay**

**By ATG543**

She had been so close to getting on that plane with Julian. Haley had told her to follow her heart, and implied that it was with Julian. Peyton, who was still wallowing over Lucas, had assured Brooke that she was going to be fine here in Tree Hill.

She'd actually made it all the way to her shop to grab a few things and lock up, when he'd shown up.

"Brooke?" Somebody called from down the street. She would recognize his voice in any circumstance.

She turned, pulling the keys out of the lock. "Lucas. Hey." She smiled, pushing the door open and motioning for him to follow her inside.

She hit the lights, and sighed, looking around at all the costumes that were no longer needed.

"I guess you heard about the movie." He said, his voice a little heavy.

Brooke frowned, "Yeah. I'm so sorry Luke. Are you okay?"

He shrugged, "I guess so. I mean, some things just aren't meant to be. The movie failed just like Peyton and I failed. Kind of fitting. But hey –" He looked over at the racks of close, changing the subject, "Do I finally get one of those cool letterman jackets like Julian."

Brooke smiled, "Sure. Take whatever you like."

Lucas smiled back, and grabbed one off the rack, taking off his black leather jacket and replacing it with Brooke's creation.

He looked at himself in the mirror and then turned to Brooke laughing, "What do you think? Bring back memories?"

Brooke stopped sorting through her papers and looked up, caught a little off guard by the thoughts that ran through her head.

_**Comparisons are easily done  
Once you've had a taste of perfection  
Like an apple hanging from a tree  
I picked the ripest one, I still got the seed**_

Lucas looked so much better in the jacket than Julian did – he looked like he was supposed to be wearing it. Maybe it was because he was actually a Tree Hill Raven, but something in Brooke suspected it was more than that.

"Brooke?"

Brooke shook off her thoughts. Why was she comparing Lucas to Julian anyway? "It looks great. Takes you back doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it really does." He paused, finally walking over and leaning on the counter across from Brooke. "Hey look – I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to you in a while…"

"Oh, that's okay. We've both had a lot going on, and –"

"I'm sorry I wasn't around more when you got attacked." His words came out fast, but strong, cutting her off and startling her.

She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. She just looked at him.

"I should have figured out something had happened to you, with the way you were acting. I thought you were still upset about Angie, and that you just needed time. But then Quentin got shot and I was all self-involved with my Lindsay and Peyton drama. I just…I promised you once that I would save you, and I didn't. Not that you need saving, but I should have been there to help you." He took a breath, but still Brooke didn't say anything, she just kept looking at him, her hands frozen in between two stacks of folders.

"I want you to know that it's been killing me, and I'm so sorry, and –"

Brooke cut him off, walking around the counter and pulling him into a hug. He held her tight and for the first time in a long time she felt completely safe, even though the boy who was holding her hurt her worse than her attacker many years ago.

"Thank you Lucas, that means a lot." She finally pulled away and gave him a big smile. "I really am doing okay now. Things are falling back into place, and I'm pretty happy. I have this new clothing line, great friends, and Sam. I'm good."

Lucas nodded, "That's great, Brooke. I'm glad. You should move on from that. But hey, I've go to go. I'm catching a movie with Nathan. I'll see you around?"

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, see you around."

They hugged once more, and then he left, leaving his words rolling around in Brooke's head.

"You should move on." His voice echoed in her head. Yeah, there were a lot of things she should move on from, but it was so much easier to hold on. To remember that she had loved once, and it had been so perfect, passionate, and wonderful. Until it wasn't anymore, until she couldn't even remember how it felt.

_**You said move on, where do I go?  
I guess second best is all I will know**_**  
**

Her cell phone vibrated in on the counter and she quickly flipped it open, needing a distraction.

"Hello?"

Sam's agitated answered. "Where are you? I thought you were only going to take a few minutes. Our flight is in two hours."

"I'm on my way home." Brooke pressed end before Sam could answer, grabbing her keys and heading towards the door, forgetting the papers she had come for.

Brooke could barely concentrate on the road as she made her way home. Emotions that had been locked away had some how broken through. God, it had been so good to talk to Lucas. He was one of the only people that really got her, aside from Peyton, Haley, and Rachel. Rachel was who knows where, Haley was super busy being a mom, teacher, and singer, and Peyton…well Peyton hadn't really been all there for a while – she was overly devastated that Lucas hadn't come back to her. And of course, Brooke felt for her, but Peyton had let Lucas go. Once you let someone go, if they move on, you have no right to feel anything, right?

"This is stupid, Brooke." She said aloud to herself. "You are about to move to LA with a wonderful guy who loves you. Get it together. You are just a little shaken up emotionally because Lucas brought up a lot of emotions about the attack."

But she knew it wasn't true even as she said it. But truthfully, she had been thinking about Lucas a lot more than she'd ever like to admit. Something had broken in her when she'd seen him standing up at the altar with Lindsay. For a while she convinced herself that it was because she was hurting for her friend. But then she tried to make something work with Owen and failed. Then Julian had come around. He was great. Cocky, charming, handsome, funny, successful, great with Sam, and loving. But over the past few weeks, whenever she was with him, she felt her mind drifting.

_**'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you  
Thinking of you, what you would do  
If you were the one who was spending the night  
Oh, I wish that I was looking into your eyes**_

"Okay, finally!" Sam jumped up from the couch, "Here is your ticket, and here is your bag. Peyton was going to wait around and say goodbye, but she went to the river court for something."

Brooke just nodded, limply taking the bag and the ticket. She knew why Peyton was at the river court. She was painting an inscription from Lucas' new book, _The Comet_, the one that was supposedly all about their love. It had been months now, but Peyton was still desperately fighting for Lucas. But Brooke could tell that is was over. Still, she respected the fight Peyton had in her, even if Brooke couldn't understand it. No one had ever fought like that for her love, for her heart.

_No, _Brooke corrected herself, _that's not true. Don't lie to allow yourself to feel miserable. _Lucas had fought for her. And now, Julian was fighting for her. Owen and Chase had fought for her too, just not to the same extent. She had just never fought to keep any of them, except for Lucas. Despite what he still probably thought, she had fought will all her heart for him. She fought for him to need her like she needed him, but he just never seemed to.

After Lucas, she was too scared to fight. That took too much effort, and rarely did she ever see any results, except other people's happiness.

She dated; she pretended that relationships weren't that big of a deal. Guys came and went, but none of them stayed, because she never let them._**  
**_

_**You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter  
Like a hard candy with a surprise center  
How do I get better once I've had the best?  
You said there's tons of fish in the water, so the waters I will test**_

"Earth to Brooke! Do you want me to drive to the airport? You seem a little tired." Sam was waving her hand in front of Brooke's face.

Brooke shook her head, "No. That's okay." She dropped her bag, shoved the ticket in her jacket pocket and headed back out the door, ignoring Sam's questions.

The drive felt like a lifetime. Memories, good and bad, suffocated her.

"I do love him." She finally said aloud, "I love him."

She had to force herself to get out of the car, then to put one foot in front of the other. She felt like she was going to wake up at any moment, and she'd be back in New York, Tree Hill only a memory pushed far away.

He smiled when he saw her, his entire face lighting up with happiness. He wrapped in a warm hug, and Brooke felt so weak.

He pulled back, looking into her face, then down at her empty hands. Only then did he understand.

"Where's Sam? Where's your bag?"

Brooke felt tears began to form in her eyes as she watched his entire face fall.

"You aren't coming."

"Julian – I…" She didn't know what to say. She knew that nothing was going to make this situation any better.

"It's okay."

"This doesn't mean that I don't care about you." She whispered, not able to look into his eyes.

He shook his head, cutting her off with a soft, sad kiss. _**  
**_

_**He kissed my lips, I taste your mouth  
He pulled me in, I was disgusted with myself**_

"Goodbye Brooke Davis." He managed a small smile, before turning around and walking away, never looking back.

Brooke hated herself for not going after him, for not forcing herself to love him. He could make her happy. He would love her, and Sam. She could have a life with him.

But she didn't go after him. Instead, she pulled the ticket out of her pocket and threw it in the trash, swallowing her tears and forcing herself to walk away, wishing that she hadn't walked away all those years ago.

_**  
You're the best, and yes, I do regret  
How I could let myself let you go  
Now, now the lesson's learned  
I touched it, I was burned  
Oh, I think you should know!**_

"Brooke? What are you doing here? I met up with Haley and she told me that you were going to LA with Julian." Worry was written across his face, and Brooke couldn't do anything but cry.

"I…I was going to go. Then I just couldn't." She managed to say, doing her best to keep a strong face.

Lucas opened his door wide, and ushered her in. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Brooke shook her head, "No, everything is not okay. My whole life is anything but okay."

Lucas kneeled down beside the bed, where Brooke was sitting, and took one of her hands in his. "Brooke, tell me what's going on."

Brooke shook her head again, "I can't. I don't even know why I'm here. I shouldn't be here. I'm going to hurt everyone."

Lucas looked at her in confusion, "What are you talking about? Come on Brooke, you can tell me anything. Did something happen with Julian? Did he do something to you?"

Brooke removed her hand from Lucas' and stood up, pacing the floor in front of him.

"Yeah, something did happen with Julian. He tried to love me. And I wouldn't let him. Something happened with Owen and Chase, too. They tried to love me, and I wouldn't let them. I pushed them all away, kept them all from really seeing me vulnerable. I don't like being vulnerable. I don't like getting hurt. So I try to pretend that these half hearted relationships I have are enough. But they aren't. I can't do this anymore."

She paused, surprised that she was no longer crying. She was going to get this out, and then she was going to leave, go back to New York. She'd convince Victoria that she should come back. Sam would love New York, they'd work it out. She'd resume her old life, and leave Tree Hill in the past, where it belonged. But first she had to do this.

"Julian did so something, something that keeps me from being with him. He's not you." She paused, but couldn't find the strength to look at him.

Taking a deep breath, she continued. "When I'm with him, when I'm with any guy, I'm always thinking of you. What you would be saying, what you would be doing. I'm wondering if you'd like the restaurant I'm eating at, or if you'd think the movie was as funny as Julian or Owen or Chase did. If we were still together, would I still sleep in your old sweatshirt? Would we still fight in the rain? Would you still read to me before I fell asleep? Would we be married? Would we have kids? If I had fought for you back then, could we have made it? All of these thoughts constantly run through my head all the time. And I know that it's stupid. We were together so long ago, and I let you go. But I just have to tell you. I'm not asking for us to be together. I think that shipped sailed a long time ago. You're in love with Lindsay, or Peyton, or no one. Part of me feels so stupid for even being here, I know we aren't in high school. I just need you to know this so I can move on. So I can stop thinking of you."

She finally looked him square in his beautiful eyes, and saw the pain and confusion and other unreadable emotions flash though them.

They stood there for a moment, not saying anything, just looking at each other.

"Brooke." His voice came out strained, like he couldn't even begin to form the words he needed.

Brooke managed a smile, "You don't have to say anything. I'm leaving, Sam and I. We'll go back to New York. I can't be here anymore, it's too hard. I just…I love you Lucas Scott, and I always will."

Almost like a replay of their final breakup, she kissed him softly on his cheek before walking out the door, leaving him staring at her retreating figure, thinking that words were never enough.

_**  
'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you  
Thinking of you, what you would do  
If you were the one who was spending the night  
Oh, I wish that I was looking into your, your eyes  
Looking into your eyes, looking into your eyes**_

Sam helped Brooke pack some more items from her room, not asking anymore questions. Brooke explained everything to her.

Brooke, frustrated, threw a shoe that wouldn't fit across the room.

"This is crazy. Sam, I'm not bringing you to New York. This isn't fair. You are doing great here. Just because I am currently spiraling into insanity doesn't mean that I need to drag you with me. We are staying."

"Brooke, it's okay. We can go to New York, I know I'll love it. It will be great. You shouldn't have to live here with Peyton and Lucas constantly everywhere you go."

"We're staying. I'll deal with this all tomorrow. Lucas won't say anything to Peyton, and maybe he'll just let this all go. It doesn't have to be awkward. Things will be okay. Let's just get some sleep." Brooke shoved her bag off her bed, causing half her clothes to spill onto the floor.

"Okay." Sam said, figuring Brooke just needed some time to herself. "I'll be in my room if you need anything. It's going to be okay, Brooke."

Brooke nodded, "I know."

She closed her eyes after Sam closed her door, silently letting herself cry. It was all over. Maybe now, after all this stopped hurting, she could move on. She could love someone else.

_**  
Oh, won't you walk through?  
And bust in the door and take me away?  
Oh, no more mistakes  
'Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay, stay**_

A loud banging finally woke her up. Looking at her alarm, she saw it was 4 o'clock in the morning.

She took a quick look in Sam's room, seeing that she was fast asleep with her headphones on. Maybe Peyton had gotten locked out. She'd never come back from the river court. Brooke figured that she was either still there or at the studio.

She wrapped a robe tightly around her pajamas and rushed to the door, "I'm coming, I'm coming." She yelled.

"You know, you really should put your key on you key chain because I need my beauty sleep, Pey…" Her voice trailed off as she opened the door, realizing that it was definitely not Peyton standing on her doorstep.

"Hey."

"Hey." She whispered, her heart beating a thousand times a minute.

Once again, they stood in silence, just looking at each other.

Finally, Brooke broke the silence. "Look, about earlier, I don't know what was going on. I just…I had a little breakdown. I don't want things to be awkward with us, and really, Peyton never has to know…"

"Peyton knows." He interrupted, taking the few steps that separated them.

"Peyton know?"

"That's where I've been, talking to Peyton. I…it's over with me and Peyton. It's been over with me and Peyton. Lindsay was wrong about _The Comet_, Brooke. I think you know that. I thought you would have said something about it by now, that's why I stayed away from you a lot after the book came out. I was scared. But if you felt this way…if you feel this way…why didn't you say anything before? I had given up on this."

Brooke shook her head, turning away from Lucas. "I…I couldn't be sure. Everyone was saying it was Peyton, and it made sense. Her car and her art and how everyone always says that you two are meant to be. We were never able to make it work. Why would I assume that…"

"I know we've never been able to work before. But we are so much different now. And I'm so sick of hearing that I'm meant for Peyton. I'm not meant for Peyton. Everyone has it so wrong. _The boy saw the comet and he felt as though his life had meaning_. Of course you are the comet, Brooke. How else could I describe someone as unique and passionate and uncontrollable as you? _And when it went away, he waited his entire life for it to come back to him._ I always hoped that you would come back to me, since that night you walked away. You were right for walking away then, I know that. But, I still hoped. _It was more than just a comet because of what it brought to his life: direction, beauty, meaning. _When I was with you, when you are near me, everything is so much brighter. You light up everything I do, Brooke. Even know, I always come to you in my darkest moments, because no one can help me see like you do._ There are many who couldn't understand, and sometimes he walked among them. But even in his darkest hours, he knew in his heart that someday it would return to him, and his world would be whole again_. I know people think it's Peyton, but that's because it's the easy choice. But life isn't always about the simplest choice. I think I could be happy with Peyton, sure. But I wouldn't be alive, or pushed to change, to grow, like I would be with you. _And his belief in God and love and art would be re-awakened in his heart. _You make me believe in the kid of love that only comes around once. The kind that you get excited about every morning. I wrote my first book when I was with you Brooke. I started it because you told me I could do it. I wrote _The Comet _because of you and you know that. You have to know that, don't you?"

Brooke's cheeks were stained with mascara and tears, but she didn't care, she had never been happier in her entire life. But she was also scared to death.

"Of course I knew. That inscription, you wrote in your last letter to me, the one you gave me the day after we broke up. Of course I knew, I was just scared because I don't want this to turn into high school again, I can't go through that again Lucas. And yet here we are. Peyton still loves you, and I can't help but fear that you are going to go back to her."

Lucas shook his head, grabbing Brooke's chin and making her look at him. "I've just come from talking to Peyton. I explained to her about the comet, I explained to her that you were the one that I love, that I want to be with. She understands, of course she's hurt, but she understands. She'll find who she's supposed to be with. But I've already found her."

"How do you know that? How can you know that?"

"Because I've given exactly three of these speeches in my life, and all of them have been with you." He smiled, hoping she'd match him.

Brooke couldn't help herself, she erupted into a huge smile. "You did pretty good."

"Have you come back to me?" He searched her eyes, his arms wrapping around her waist.

"Yeah," She looked straight into his beautiful eyes. "I'm here to stay."

Then he kissed her, and she knew she really was back. She was living again, fully. The sky couldn't be any brighter.

_**'Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay**_


End file.
